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Sunday, 28 July 2013

Welcome if you're visiting my blog from the Organize It! link party OR "WE" Heart Organizing Challenge! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy reading my blog! Happy organizing! :)Sparkly stones, glistening gold, shimmering silver and so much more! If you are a lady reading this post, you might already know what all of these are found in - Jewellery! (or you probably read the title :P) Having all of your jewellery on a single tray doesn't really help prevent everything from getting tangled or turning it into a big mess! So, to know ways on organizing your jewellery (and how I organize mine), keep on reading! Please read till the end, I've saved the best for last!

*not
sponsored, links are non-affiliated, images are from respective
websites unless mentioned otherwise, I just wanted to provide links
where you could buy the products at the best price! Collages made using Picmonkey.com!* :)Price breakdown:$ = <$10 - $20$$ = >$20 - $30$$$ = >$30 1. Jewel;ery trees/Stands:

Pros: Displays your jewellery, can be used for decoration & organization!

Cons: Usually a bit more on the expensive side, takes up desktop/dresser/vanity/etc. space

Price: $-$$

Ideal if: You want decoration, organization & have plenty of space to spare!

Pros: A great space saver, it also displays your jewellery, can be used for both decoration & organization, you can DIY!

Cons: Hooks/knobs may not be strong enough to support all of your jewellery so you may have to purchase more of them, also you may run out of space too!

Ideal if: You want to DIY an organizer while adding your own personal touches to it & don't have a lot of space to spare!

Price: $-$$, depending on the amount you spend on making it!

How to: Take a cork board (you can paint it or add wallpaper, etc), fix some hooks/knobs (or even pins for earrings) onto it - a zigzag order would seem the best and hang your pieces up! Framing the board to make it look extra glam is an option too!

Make sure you line the box with felt so your jewelery doesn't get damaged!

That's 5 - or should I say 6? ;) easy ways to organize your jewellery! Thanks a TON for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this post even though it took me a while! Which one's your favourite? Do you have any other ways on how you organize your jewellery? Leave a comment below! I love reading & replying to comments! Also, please go ahead & subscribe so you know when I post next! Thanks! :)

Saturday, 27 July 2013

What war was fought, when, where & why? Where are different types of vegetation or wildlife found? How is the government formed? How are banks run?Well, to answer all of the above questions and more, we need to study Social Studies (SS). To be more specific, History, Geography, Civics/Democratic Politics & Economics. I'm done with SS for the rest of my life but had to study it for the past 7 years (and I got good grades in it too!) So, let me tell you a few ways how! (if you don't know what this series is, click here!)General study tips:

Read a LOT:
Honestly, the more you read, the better you know the subject! Now,
understanding the subject is much much better than memorizing it but you
do kind of have to memorize a lot anyways!

Highlight! I used 3 different colours to highlight (pictured above) - Blue (important terms), green (definitions) & yellow (general points). The colour really does strike you while studying (hence making it a little less boring for those of you who find it so). It also helps you revise quicker because you find certain points easier with just a glance!

Number points: (pictured above) If you have subjective exams especially with essay type questions, this will help you in framing points without making separate notes, hence saving time! For us, a 3 mark question meant you needed to write 3 or 6 points whereas a 5 mark question meant writing 5-10 points! Numbering the points did really help me!

Specific study tips:1. History:

Make timelines: When it comes to history, timelines are your best friend! You can type/write one and either summarize events and/or describe what happened during any particular time periods.

Storytime?! If you don't want to make a timeline, just know the basic sequence of events & learn it like a story!

Flash cards: Remembering particular dates/names in History is usually pretty important! Learn them through flash cards or timelines!

2. Geography:

Visualize: Directions come into play quite a bit in Geography! Suppose you're reading about physical features - River A flows in through the Northern states, river B flows through the Southern states, Mountain range C is on the Western side of the country, etc. You could even draw it roughly!

Maps: Depending on the number of places you have to locate, maps can be tough! The best tip I can give you is practice marking the places again and again!

3. Civics/Political science:

Relate events: This is the most helpful tip I can give you! Relate the material that you're studying to current/recent events! For example, if you are learning about elections and elections are going on, make sure you read the newspaper to understand better! Usually, this subject also has a lot of laws/amendments to learn about which may be related to bills or the constitution so reading the newspaper will help a lot!

4. Economics:

Create examples: I've studied economics for only 2 years (while I've studied the above topics for 7) and this is what helps me the most! I've found quite a few situations (example: violation of rights, going to court, loans, etc) where making up an example will help in understanding the subject a lot better! After all, it's always easier to understand with examples!

That's it! Thanks a TON for reading! I hope these tips helped you! Feel free to leave a comment below -whether it's requests, more tips or anything! Also, I would love to know what is your favourite topic out of the 4 that I've mentioned in this post! While you're at it, please go ahead and subscribe so you know when I post next! Thanks!-Kavya :)

"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday". - Pearl Buck

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

In my previous post, "How to Organize: your Planner", I mentioned how important using a planner is to be organized. Well, not everyone may want to use a planner so if you are one of those people, don't fret! I'll give you quite a few ways on how you can still be organized without using one - starting from a planner to the simplest method of all!

You can also use any of these methods to organize different parts of your life! :)

*not
sponsored, links are non-affiliated, images are from respective
websites unless mentioned otherwise, I just wanted to provide links
where you could buy the products at the best price! All opinions are my own!* :)

#1 - A monthly/weekly planner:

Ideal if you: Can stick to a planner and utilize it to the max! (see what I did there?)

Not the best choice if: you may forget to write in it (which may happen when you start using one but if you keep forgetting to use it, it's probably not the best option for you!)

$13.99 | Amazon.com (A little bit more expensive but you'll be able to use it for years!)

#5 - Post-it notes!

Ideal if you: have absolutely no intention of using a planner but may want to be organized on a few days - take a post-it note, date it and just jot down whatever you need to do! (If you're in school, you might even be able to stick it in your locker or just stick it in your binder/notebook and write when you need to!), have mainly day-to-day work instead of long-term projects

Not the best choice if: You require looking back at days/months, have a lot of work all the time, etc.

Products:

These are ones I got locally for a $1! Steal! Try to find schedule like ones!

That's it! Thanks a TON for reading! Feel free to leave a comment below on what item you use to organize your life or if you have any other alternatives, you can share them too! Please go ahead and follow or subscribe for more posts! Thanks! :)

-Kavya :)

"In all planning you make a list and you set priorities." – Alan Lakein

Monday, 8 July 2013

*Welcome to my blog if you're visiting from the Organize It! link party! (click to go back to it!) Thanks a lot for stopping by! I hope you enjoy reading my post! :)*

Organizing your space is important. Organizing your time is important. Thus, organizing your life is important. #1 organizing tool - the mighty planner (ok, that's a little bit dramatic) but it's 100% true. In this post, I'll tell you on how you can organize your planner (If you don't know what this series is, click here!)

*not
sponsored, links are non-affiliated, images are from respective
websites unless mentioned otherwise, I just wanted to provide links
where you could buy the products at the best price!* :)

First off, why is a planner an essential for being organized?

It helps you keep track of your work - assignments, tests, presentations, etc.

It allows you to manage your time wisely.

You can see what you have to do at a glance.

It helps prevent procrastination!

And much more! Once you know why you need a planner, you need to organize that and I'll give you a few ideas on how you can do so! [I am an 11th a 12th grader, so this is slightly more student oriented, however, I've done my best to include other ideas as well!]

b. Prioritize your tasks - use numbers - like I've done on Wednesday (1 - very important, 3 - not very important, 2 - kind of important) or assign each priority a different colour!

Pros: Simple, keeps you organized! (this is the method that I use!)

Cons: Takes a little bit more time to write

Ideal for: People who have time between their classes/work to actually sit down and write!

2. Highlighting in different colours:

Just as method 1, assign each task that you have to do a colour & highlight the task in it!

a. (in the picture above the other one above) Highlight each task by priority - like I've done on Thursday!

b. Highlight each task by a particular colour - like I've done on Friday!

Pros: Easy, makes your planner very colourful!

Cons: Takes some time to highlight everything!

Ideal for: People who don't have enough time to write & highlight their tasks immediately but do later!

3. Write in coloured pens & highlight!

I've done this on Saturday and honesty, you can just combine 2 or more ways to organize your planner to the max!

For example, you can assign each subject/type of work a colour code for writing & prioritize by using highlighters!

You will have a super-duper colourful planner if you do use this way! :)

More tips & tricks!

Use a post-it page marker! (like I've done on Monday & Thursday) Stick one on an important day - whether you have a test, performance, an event to go to, a meeting, etc.

Colour-code them too by assigning each page marker a colour or simply just write in whatever color you've already assigned! (I've just written an event on Tuesday's line but I think that using post-its is better! What about you?)

Plan ahead - Either on Sunday or the "Notes" section (if you have one), stick a small post-it note and write any events, occasions, tests, due dates, etc. so you know what's coming for you in the next week!

Not sure if you've noticed in the above 2 pictures but I've actually highlighted a few days' names - this is to organize any recurring activities like classes or basically, anything that occurs on a weekly basis! For example - I've highlighted Monday & Friday in 1 colour (yellow) , Wednesday & Saturday in another (green) and finally Sunday in another (blue)! Let's say, yellow and green represent 2 classes A & B respectively while blue represents that it's a holiday (I have school on Saturday too!)

Managing colour codes - I've mentioned SO many colour-codes, to make sure you don't mix them up (if you do colour code), write you code down in the "Notes" section or on a sticky note and place it in the back cover of your planner for easy access!

That's all! Thanks a TON for reading this long post! I hope it helped you in some way! Feel free to leave a comment below telling me if you are going to use any tips that I mentioned or if you have other ones, I would love to know too! Any other requests are totally accepted too! While you're at it, please go ahead and subscribe or follow so you know when I post next! Thanks! :)-Kavya :)

Monday, 1 July 2013

Prioritizing plays a major role in being organized! It helps you keep your work on track! There are 3 major ways that you can prioritize:1. Date:

How: based on the due date (that is dreaded deadlines) - whichever comes first, do that!

Ideal for: Tests, projects, events

2. Difficulty:

How: Easy, medium, hard

Ideal for: Cramming, studying for multiple tests on a single day, last-minute work

3. Importance:

How: Simple - least important, most important and the middle category OR as how I like to put it - What HAS to be done, what can be done LATER and what just needs to be done EVENTUALLY

Ideal for: Schoolwork, events - exams are more important than doing homework right?

You might be wondering, well how can you prioritize?

Numbering/Lettering - Just assign a number/letter to each category! Ideal for prioritzing based on difficulty & importance

Colour coding - Assign each category a colour! For prioritizing by date, prioritize from a certain day, maybe the beginning of a month for example - assign each week a certain colour!

Make sure if you are prioritizing for a single day, mix the priorities up! I mean to say that don't plan to do 2 difficult events as well as study for 2 extremely important tests! That's all! It's that simple! Thanks a TON for reading! Comment below telling me if you are going to start prioritizing now! If you have any other requests, feel free to leave them below! Please go ahead and follow or subscribe so you know when I post next! Thanks! :)

-Kavya :)

"The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." - Stephen Covey